Even though she had a poor memory, she told interesting stories to the children. (Despite)

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the underlined part that needs correction in each of the following questions

I have worked on an English assignment when Thao called me to break the news

Energy-saving bulbs make _______ use of electricity. (efficiency)

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the answer to each of the question from 36-42

Educating children at home as an alternative to formal education is an option chosen by families in many parts of the world. The homeschooling movement is popular in the United States, where close to one million Children are educated at home. In Canada, 1 percent of school-age children are homeschooled, and the idea also enjoys growing popularity in Australia, where 20,000 families homeschool their children. The movement is not limited to these countries. Homeschooling families can be found all over the world, from Japan to Taiwan to Argentina to South Africa.

Homeschooling is not a novel idea. In fact, the idea of sending children to spend most of their day away from home at a formal school is a relatively new custom. In the United States, for example, it was not until the latter part of the nineteenth century that state governments began making school attendance compulsory. Before that, the concept of a formal education was not so widespread. Children learned the skills they would need for adult life at home from tutors or their parents, through formal instruction or by working side by side with the adults of the family.

In the modern developed world, where the vast majority of children attend school, families choose homeschooling for a variety of reasons. For people who live in remote areas, such as the Australian outback or the Alaskan Wilderness, homeschooling may be their only option. Children who have exceptional talents in the arts or other areas may be homeschooled so that they have more time to devote to their special interests. Much of the homeschooling movement is made up of families who, for various reasons, are dissatisfied with the schools available to them. They may have a differing educational philosophy, they may be concerned about the safety of the school environment, or they may feel that the local schools cannot adequately address their children's educational needs. Although most families continue to choose a traditional classroom education for their children, homeschooling as an alternative educational option is becoming more popular.

Which of the following could be the main idea of the passage?

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.

Earthquakes are destructive events in nature. The damage depends on the size or magnitude of the quake. There have never been so many people living in cities in quake zones, and so the worse the damage can be from a big quake, bringing fires, tsunamis, and the loss of life, property, and maybe an entire city.     We understand how earthquakes happen but not exactly where or when they will occur. Until recently, quakes seemed to occur at random. In Japan, government research is now showing that quakes can be predicted. At the Earthquake Research Institute, University of Tokyo, Koshun Yamaoka says earthquakes do follow a pattern—pressure builds in a zone and must be released. But a colleague, Naoyuki Kato, adds that laboratory experiments indicate that a fault slips a little before it breaks. If this is true, predictions can be made based on the detection of slips.     Research in the U.S. may support Kato’s theory. In Parkfield, California earthquakes occur about every 22 years on the San Andreas fault. In the 1980s, scientists drilled into the fault and set up equipment to record activity to look for warning signs. When an earthquake hit again, it was years off schedule. At first the event seemed random but scientists drilled deeper. By 2005 they reached the bottom of the fault, two miles down, and found something. Data from two quakes reported in 2008 show there were two “slips’—places where the plates widened—before the fault line broke and the quakes occurred.     We are learning more about these destructive events every day. In the future we may be able to track earthquakes and design an early-warning system. So if the next great earthquake does happen in Tokai, about 100 miles southwest of Tokyo, as some scientists think, the citizens of Tokai may have advance warning. (Adapted from Reading Explorer 3, Nancy Douglas et al., 2010) 

What is the main idea of the passage?

Read the following passage, and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.

During the teenage years, many young people can at times be difficult to talk to. They often seem to dislike being questioned. They may seem unwilling to talk about their work at school. This is a normal development of this age. Though it can be very hard for parents to understand, it is part of becoming independent of teenagers trying to be adult while they are still growing up. Young people are usually unwilling to talk if they believe that questions are trying to check up on them.Parents should do their best to talk to their son and daughter about school, work and future plans but should not push them to talk if they don't want to. Parents should also watch for danger signs. Some young people in trying to be adult may experience with sex, drugs, alcohol or smoking. Parents need to watch for any signs of unusual behavior which may be connected with these and help if neccesary. Growing up in the early 2000s, a period when technology began to enter our lives, I remembered my childhood in two distinct parts. In elementary school, my friends and I spent our free time after school playing outside. We would go to different street vendors to eat junk food and buy cheap toys. Sometimes, we would watch cartoons together. But there were few channels back then; we didn’t spend too much time in front of the TV. Everything gradually changed when I started secondary school. Internet had become more popular so I began spending more time at Internet cafe. I would play games online and chat with my friends. Cable channel was also on the rise at the time. There were channels airing cartoons all day, every day. Watching TV became a routine for many kids my age. At the time, I didn’t give much thought about the changes. Now, I realize that I miss those old days hanging out with my friends, eating junk food and sharing toys. 

This passage is taken from a ________________.

During the first 10 minutes of the presentation, her lack of confidence ______ out a mile.

Don’t worry, everything is _______ control.

Don't hope to be successful without trying your best.

=> If ____________________________________________.

Does your brother use the internet every day?

=> Your brother..................doesn't he?

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the word whose underlined part differs from the other three in pronunciation in each of the following questions.

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.

Cell phones are an integrated part of our society at this point, and their main use is communication. They keep students in touch with the rest of the world by giving them the power to interact with it. In my day, if you forgot your lunch you were at the mercy of the office calling home for you. Now, students have the ability to solve their own problems and handle certain "emergencies" on their own.

Cell phones also allow students the ability when the time is right, to keep in touch with students at other schools or friends that don't go to school. While not an educational benefit directly, better relationships can lead to higher self-esteem and reduce isolation, which is good for everybody. In the same way, camera phones allow students to capture the kinds of memories that help build a solid school culture, and, in some cases, can act as documentation of misbehavior in the same way that store cameras provide evidence and deter bad behavior.

Academically, the cell phone can act as to record video of a procedure of explanation that may need to be reviewed later. It could be used to record audio of a lecture, as well, for later review. And just imagine if class could be easily "taped" for students who are absent? What if they could even be streamed and seen from home instantly?

The iPod is a little trickier, because its function varies greatly by model. At its heart, it is a media player, and I know for a fact that many students work better while listening to music. For this reason, they can have a good effect by keeping students from getting too distracted while working (ironic, because we mostly think of them AS distractions!). If it is a WIFI compatible model, and wireless internet is available, the iPod can be a great tool for looking up information or digging into things more deeply. Depending on the model, it may be able to act as a camera and video recorder as well (with the same benefits as the cell phone).

Devices like the Kindle could, conceivably, make learning a lot easier. Imagine carrying all your textbooks in the palm of your hand, rather than strapped to your back! Though expensive, compared to buying new textbooks, the Kindle is a bargain. Many of the books used in high school English classes are actually FREE on the Kindle.

The passage mainly discusses ____.

Can I borrow one of your tablets? 

 Can you lend me a ____________________?  (OF)

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 46 to 50.

Broadcasting, perhaps the greatest invention of the last century, has come a long way; and the BBC is one of the most important and trusted broadcasters in the world today. The British Broadcasting Company was established in 1922. Four years later, it changed its name to the British Broadcasting Corporation, better known as the BBC. It was not the world's first radio station. There had already been public radio broadcasts in Britain before 1920. From the beginning the BBC was a public service radio, but also an independent operator. In the early days of BBC radio, there was not a lot of news on the radio. There were music, drama, discussions and children's programs; but news was not broadcast until after 7 p.m., to avoid competition with the newspapers! In 1936 the BBC began the world's first television service. Only a few thousand people in London could receive those first flickering images. Nevertheless, people liked what they saw, and as the number of transmitters increased, more and more people went out to buy new television sets. In 1937, tennis was broadcast from Wimbledon for the first time. Then in 1938, football's Cup Final could be seen, live, by hundreds of thousands of people for the first time ever. Since 1946, the BBC has become one of Britain's most famous institutions. Today it has several national television channels, lots of radio channels and a growing number of international services. (Adapted from https://linguapress.com)

What is the passage mainly about?

Many families break up ________

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 38 to 42.

  Being repeatedly late may just be accidental - or could it show a deeply rooted psychological desire to express your own superiority? when I worked in an office, meetings would often start late, usually because of a certain individual. Then they would overrun and the whole day lost its shape. But the individual was high-ranking and self-important: nobody challenged. So, what are the ethics of lateness?

  There’s a psychotherapist called Irvin Yalom who argues that all behaviour reflects psychology. Just as people who like to be on time are motivated by certain deep-seated beliefs, so those who make others wait are acting out an inner agenda, often based on an acute sense of power. There’s famous footage in which Silvio Berlusconi kept Angela Merkel waiting while he made a call on his mobile. It speaks volumes.

  But that is when all lateness is in one’s control, what about when your train is cancelled or your flight is delayed or you had to wait longer for the plumber to arrive? In such cases, there’s not a lot of psychology involved. Or is there? Some people will genuinely worry about the impact it will have on those left waiting, while others might secretly enjoy the power of their absence.

          The essential fact is that lateness means breaking a convention - you can only be late in respect of a time agreed with other people. Regardless of psychology, it has a social value. And when we treat other people’s time as less valuable than our own, we treat them as inferior

It can be inferred from the reading passage that___________.

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.

Beethoven was born in Bonn, Germany, in 1770. His childhood was unhappy. His father drank too much. Beethoven's musical talent was obvious from childhood. He quickly became a talented performer on the piano. In 1792, he moved to Vienna, Austria, to study with Austrian composer Joseph Haydn. Soon Beethoven was playing music that he wrote himself. Many people admired his powerful, dramatic music.

Beethoven was often ill or depressed. He was unable to find a woman who would marry him. Just as he was becoming very successful, he started to lose his hearing. Deafness is the worst fate for a musician. Beethoven's performing career was over.

Despite Beethoven's hearing loss, he still wrote music. The music he wrote became even better. His music was richly expressive and revealed feelings such as joy and sadness. He created one bold masterpiece after another. Besides piano music, Beethoven wrote string quartets (pieces for four stringed instruments) and other kinds of chamber music. Chamber music is written for small groups, and people can play it in their homes or in small halls. Beethoven also wrote songs, two masses, an opera, and nine outstanding symphonies.

Beethoven studied works by Haydn, German composer Johann Sebastian Bach, and Austrian composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Then he broke their rules and made music that was like no one else's. It was emotional and challenging. Beethoven wanted his music to express ideas as well as emotions. He wanted it to praise freedom and equality and other high ideals.

Some of Beethoven's well-known achievements are the Moonlight Sonata for piano, the Fifth Symphony, and the Ninth Symphony. The Fifth Symphony has a famous four-note opening, da-da-da-dum. The Ninth Symphony ends with a triumphant chorus called "Ode to Joy." Beethoven's music set a standard that later composers measured their work by.

Crowds loved him and adored his music. Beethoven was famous, although not happy. In 1827, he got pneumonia and died in Vienna.

Which of the following best describes Beethoven's life according to the passage?

become / astronaut / need / hard / special / training

Because writing has become so important in our culture, we sometimes think of it as more real than speech. A little thought, however, will show why speech is primary and writing secondary to language. Human beings have been writing at least 5,000 years, but they have been talking for much longer, doubtless ever since there have been human beings. When writing developed, it was derived from and represented speech, although imperfectly. Even today, there are spoken languages that have no written form. Furthermore, we all learn to talk well before we learn to write; any child who is not severely handicapped physically or mentally will learn to talk: a normal man cannot be prevented from doing so. On the other hand, it takes a special effort to learn to write; in the past, many intelligent and useful members of society did not acquire the skill, and even today many who speak languages with writing systems never learn to read or write while some who learn the rudiments of those skills do so imperfectly.

To affirm the primacy of speech over writing is not to disparage the later. One advantage writing has over speech is that it is more permanent and makes possible the records that any civilization must have. Thus, if speaking makes us human, writing makes us civilized.

According to paragraph 1, the author of the passage argues that _______

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.

 Basic to any understanding of Canada in the 20 years after the Second World War is the country's impressive population growth. For every three Canadians in 1945, there were over five in 1966. In September 1966 Canada's population passed the 20 million mark. Most of these surging growth came from natural increase. The depression of the 1930s and the war had held back marriages, and the catching-up process began after 1945. The baby boom continued through the decade of the 1950s, producing a been exceeded only once before in Canada's history, in the decade before 1911, when the prairies were population increase of nearly fifteen percent in the five years from 1951 to 1956. This rate of increase had been settled. Undoubtedly, the good economic conditions of the 1950s supported a growth in the population, but the expansion also derived from a trend toward earlier marriages and an increase in the average size of families. In 1957 the Canadian birth rate stood at 28 per thousand, one of the highest in the world.

 After the peak year of 1957, the birth rate in Canada began to decline. It continued falling until 1966 it stood at the lowest level in 25 years. Partly this decline reflected the low level of births during the depression and the war, but it was also caused by changes in Canadian society. Young people were staying at school longer; more women were working; young married couples were buying automobiles or houses before starting families; rising living standards were cutting down the size of families.

 It appeared that Canada was once more falling in step with the trend toward smaller families that had occurred all through the Western world since the time of the Industrial Revolution. Although the growth in Canada's population had slowed down by 1966 (the increase in the first half of the 1960s was only nine percent), another large population wave was coming over the horizon. It would be composed of the children of the children who were born during the period of the high birth rate prior to 1957.

 What does the passage mainly discuss?

Mark the letter A, B, C or D to indicate the word(s) OPPOSITE in meaning to the underlined word(s) in each of the following questions.

At first, he was reluctant to help US. However, after persuading for a long time, he agreed to play the guitar at our tea-shop.

As soon as Martina saw the fire, she_____ the fire department.

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the sentence that is closest in meaning to the question.

As I get older, I want to travel less.

Đọc đoạn văn sau và chọn câu trả lời thích hợp nhất cho mỗi câu hỏi:

As a result of years of research, we know that too much animal fat is bad for our health. For example, Americans eat a lot of meat and only a small amount of grains, fruit and vegetables. Because of their diet, they have high rates of cancer and heart disease; In Japan, in contrast, people eat large amounts of grains and very little meat. The Japanese also have very low rates of cancer and heart disease. In fact, the Japanese live longer than anyone else in the world.

Unfortunately, when Japanese people move to the United States, the rates of heart disease and cancer increase as their diet changes. Moreover, as hamburgers, ice-cream, and other high-fat foods become popular in Japan, the rates of heart disease and cancer are increasing there as well. People are also eating more meat and dairy products in other countries such as Cuba, Mauritius and Hungary. Not surprisingly, the disease rates in these countries are increasing along with the change in diet. Consequently, doctors everywhere advise people to eat more grains, fruit and vegetables and to eat less meat and fewer dairy products.

What is the main idea of this passage?

Rewrite the following sentences and the meaning stays the same.

Are you against working on Sunday?

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.

Although Asia has a rich cultural heritage, with written records extending back some 4,000 years, libraries were slow to emerge in the region. Temples and centers of religious learning established most of the earliest Asian libraries that had sizeable collections. These institutions developed in the period that roughly corresponds to the European Middle Ages, from about the 5th century to the 15th century. At the same time, court libraries grew to coexist with religious libraries in most Asian countries. Use of these libraries was restricted to court officials or to religious leaders. It was not until the early 20th century that Asian libraries became accessible to a wide public, and for the most part, public library systems did not emerge until after World War II ended in 1945.

In general, Asian libraries have been slow to automate their operations, although many libraries in China, India, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan do have computerized systems. In the late 1990s most computer use in Asia was limited to microcomputer management of circulation. However, the public has access to online catalogs in increasing numbers of Asian libraries, particularly in documentation centers and national libraries. The high cost of international telephone lines and the slow delivery of documents from overseas have inhibited more rapid growth of online searching.

(Adapted from Microsoft Encarta 2009)

The word "emerge" as used in the passage mostly means ____________.

All __________ is a continuous supply of the basic necessities of life.

Read the following passage, and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.

After only 50 minutes flying from Ho Chi Minh City, you will set foot on the tropical paradise of Vietnam and the world: Phu Quoc Island. The island has a roughly triangular shape with a north-south length of 50km and a west-east width of 25km. A great part of the terrain is filled with beautiful sandy beaches, but there is a mountainous region with 99 peaks, among which the Peak of Chua Mountain is the tallest one at 603 meters. Due to Phu Quoc’s location in the Gulf of Thailand, its climate is sub-equatorial with temperate weather all year round, making trips to Phu Quoc possible any time of the year. However, the best time to travel to this island is during the dry season, from November until March, when the sky is blue and clear and the rains are away. Phu Quoc is most famous for its cuisines and a natural wonderful coastline. The most famous food of Phu Quoc is fish sauce, which has become quite popular all over Vietnam and the world. Besides, another thing worth trying there is the spicy yet interesting black pepper. However, the factor that will definitely intrigue you to visit Phu Quoc is its untouched coastline featuring several heavenly beaches. They have yet to be explored to their full ability, but this fact might be actually positive as it gives the shores a romantic beauty that you can find nowhere else in the world.

According to the passage, what is Phu Quoc Island regarded as?

After failing the exam, he decided to _____ his study habits to improve his grades.

Identify the one underlined word or phrase that must be changed for the sentence to be correct

According to the rules of this game, you had better not drop the ball.

A survey was conducted to determine students' __________ toward their purposes of studying.

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.

A recent study shows that an unequal share of household chores is still the norm in many households, despite the fact that many more women now have jobs. In a survey of 1,256 people ages between 18 and 65, men said they contributed an average of 37% of the total housework, while the women estimated their share to be nearly double that, at 70%. This ratio was not affected by whether the woman was working or not.

When they were asked what they thought was a fair division of labour, women with jobs felt that housework should be shared equally between male and female partners. Women who did not work outside the home were satisfied to perform 80% - the majority of the household work - if their husbands did remainder. Research has shown that, if levels increase beyond these percentages, women become unhappy and anxious, and feel they are unimportant.

After marriage, a woman is reported to increase her household workload by 14 hours per week, but for men the amount is just 90 minutes. So the division of labour becomes unbalanced, as a man's share increases much less than the woman's. It is the inequality and loss of respect, not the actual number of hours, which leads to anxiety and depression. The research describes housework as thankless and unfulfilling. Activities included in the study were cooking, cleaning, shopping, doing laundry, washing up and childcare. Women who have jobs report that they feel overworked by these chores in addition to their professional duties. In contrast, full-time homemakers frequently anticipate going back to work when the children grow up. Distress for this group is caused by losing the teamwork in the marriage.

According to the passage, a fair division of labour is that________

A lot of fans are disappointed to find that their idols have _______ of clay when they are caught doing something embarrassing.

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the following questions.

A large number of inventions and discoveries have been _____________ accident.

A building was destroyed in the fire. It is now being rebuilt. (using “which”)

Write a description of the traffic in your community (60 - 80 words).

You can use the following questions as cues.

-  What are the main means of transport?

- What is the rush hour?

- What happens during the rush hour?

- What is the main traffic problem?

I gave Ted the message, but he already knew about it. (needn’t)

I am pretty sure Dan is at home because the lights are on.

He is not exactly rich but he certainly earns enough to ________________.

Don't put too much garlic in the salad; two bunches are enough.